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Fudgy and rich chocolate avocado brownies replacing butter with heart-healthy fats! Try these healthy brownies for your next holiday party or a fun night in with your family!
When I first heard about avocado brownies I was skeptical. Green avocados mixed with chocolate made me think of something out of a Dr. Seuss book! Then I realized, replacing butter with these heart-healthy fats is a healthier options and pretty creative to be honest.
Most of us have only had avocados in the most amazing dish ever created, guacamole! However, the uses for avocados are endless. For example, a sandwich spread, a creamy sauce for pasta or vegetables, and even topped with an egg in the oven. Now that the low fat craze and misleading facts about fats are behind us (very sad for us dietitians to learn about) people are becoming more intrigued by these majestic, green beauties.
My Baking Adventures
I eat avocados almost everyday whether it is for breakfast with an egg scramble or later in the day with a salad. In dessert however, this is a first! The kitchen is slowly becoming my second home as I share with you my cooking adventures. Baking? It is still a complete mystery to me and part of that is due to fear. For the upcoming New Year, I hope to explore more in the baking world and learn about the basics behind it. A family friend and successful chef for the online program at the Escoffier Culinary Academy, Tom Beckman, suggested How Baking Works, a book about the science and fundamentals of baking. And yes, I added this to my Christmas wish list!
Brownies are trendy again!
There are so many varieties out there today. Of course, avocado, but there are also sweet potato, beets, and black beans sneaking into brownie batter (these will be my next brownie adventure!).
After exploring the internet, most recipes for avocado brownies used melted chocolate and up to a cup of sugar. I really wanted to cut down on the sugar since the chocolate chips were sweet enough, and in reality, we do not need so much sugar in our diets. One of the best recipes that I was inspired by was from the blog, Half Baked Harvest. The pictures are beautiful and the brownies look absolutely decadent!
I decreased the amount of granulated sugar by using all natural maple syrup in addition to the recipe. If you prefer cake-like brownies, I would add in an extra egg. These brownies are fudgy and with less structure as I used only a ½ cup of flour.
These brownies can be gluten free if you substitute almond flour for the whole wheat flour. To make them vegan, use flax eggs for the whole eggs, and be cautious with the chocolate chips (make sure you use dark chocolate). I hope you enjoy these avocado brownies and good luck not eating the whole pan at once!
PrintDeliciously Rich Avocado Brownies
Feel free to swap in different toppings such as nuts or seeds, dried fruit, or even coconut shreds. These brownies are good for up to a week in the refrigerator or a few months in the freezer.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 medium, ripe avocados skin and pit removed (halve the avocado and scoop out with a spoon)
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup raw granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa
- ½ teaspoon salt or pinch of sea salt
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or cacao nibs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set aside a lightly greased 8 x 8 baking dish.
- In a food processor, add the avocado, maple syrup, and sugar. Blend well. Then add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix well so that all of the ingredients are blended together. Make sure to scrape the sides for any remnants.
- Gently add in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa and mix well.
- Turn off the processor and remove the blade. Stir in the chocolate chips using a spoon or spatula.
- Spread the batter into the pan evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until done. Test the middle of the batter with a knife or toothipick to make sure nothing sticks.
- Remove from heat and let cool before cutting into squares. Enjoy!
Kathryn Pfeffer-Scanlan MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian and recent transplant to Boulder, CO. After working as an inpatient dietitian for almost five years in Boston, she is expanding her expertise in the health and wellness industry. Katie is passionate about cooking and food photography, sharing her culinary adventures on her food blog, One Hungry Bunny, and exploring her new Rocky Mountain surroundings. Follow Katie on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Juli Jacobs
What is the pan size???
Katie
8x8
Polyna
I have wanted for a long time to try avocados as a substitute for butter/oil in baked goods. Today I made these as the base for little brownie-cheesecakes (baked in mini panettone cups with a bit of chocolate and vanilla frosting piped on when cool) and they are SOOOOO rich and flavourful (and also look so professional)! The brownie batter is pretty much the same consistency as the cheesecake batter that I poured on top, so both layers finished baking at the same time. I am glad I didn't read the comments first since some people complained of bitterness, which my tasters and I did not detect one bit. It sounds from an internet search that could be due to under-ripe avocados and/or cooking too hot or too long? I actually used a 335 F baking temp instead of 350 F because I have a convection oven, for which it's recommended to drop the temp somewhat for cakes. Maybe some normal ovens also run hot? Anyway, they are perfect perfect perfect!!! Thank you.
Katie
Polyna, brownie cheesecakes sound amazing!! Thanks so much for trying and sharing!!
Vanya
To people finding the recipe turns out bitter- there’s a very strong possibility you’re using avocados that haven’t ripened fully. That would be the first thing to check if you try again. Unripened avocado is very bitter and no amount of extra sweeteners would help with that.
I will say that do taste the avocado in this recipe, but I don’t personally mind that. It’s also much too sweet for me as written, since I don’t eat a lot of refined sugar. (But you can’t write a recipe that’s to everyone’s tastes, of course). It does bake up nice and fudgy if the ingredients aren’t fiddled with and it isn’t over mixed. I served it with a few different optional toppings like coconut bits, warm spices, and chopped nuts that people chose from to suit their own tastes and it was a hit. Thank you!
Katie
Vanya,
Thanks so much For sharing these are excellent tips! I love the additional topping ideas!
A
Loved these! I made them for a school market day a couple of years ago, and just rediscovered the recipe. I added about 1 cup of raspberries (and had to bake them for an extra 20/30 mins, probably from the extra moisture). They were delicious - people almost didn't believe there was avocado in them. I'll be sure to check out some other recipes.
Katie
Amie,
I’m so happy you enjoyed them! The addition of raspberries sounds delicious!!
Katie
Amy
I made these today with a couple substitutions.. they were so easy and delicious!! No bitterness at all. I believe avocados may become bitter if they are overcooked.. so for others having that problem, maybe try a lower oven temp or baking them a few minutes less.
I used 3 small avocados (totalling 270g without pit/skin). If you don't mind a few green specs in your brownies and don't have a food processor like me, you can just finely mash the avocados before mixing in the rest of the ingredients. 🙂
Used around 3/4 cup erythritol instead of the maple syrup+granulated sugar for a low sugar option and switched out 1/3rd of the flour with chocolate whey protein powder. They still turned out so good!
I looked at other avocado brownie recipes, but they added in regular butter or nut butters. I wanted to use only avocados as the fat source so your recipe was perfect!! I'll def be making these again. 🙂 Thank you for the recipe!
Katie
Amy, thank you these are great suggestions and I’m so happy you enjoyed the brownies!